A dog died Wednesday in North Georgia after crews were unable to rescue him from a cave in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, officials said. He was euthanized.

The dog had been trapped since the weekend, but the family didn’t notify authorities until Tuesday, Gilmer County fire chief Tony Pritchett told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The family tried rescuing the dog but were unsuccessful.

Fire officials attempted to free the animal, but Pritchett said the dog was in a spot where it was impossible to be rescued.

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“We got to the point where it was deemed there was absolutely nothing that could have been done to rescue the dog,” he said.

Pritchett contacted the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service for help, but it was too late.

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